Lsb Industries (NYSE:LXU) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Here’s What Happened

Lsb Industries Inc. (NYSE:LXU) saw an uptick in trading volume on Friday . 924,461 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 43% from the previous session’s volume of 645,120 shares.The stock last traded at $14.31 and had previously closed at $13.96.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on LXU. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Lsb Industries from $11.00 to $13.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Zacks Research cut shares of Lsb Industries from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Lsb Industries from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $9.75 price objective (up from $9.50) on shares of Lsb Industries in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Lsb Industries from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $10.92.

Lsb Industries Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $965.66 million, a PE ratio of 39.53 and a beta of 0.66. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $9.92 and a 200-day simple moving average of $9.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 2.78 and a quick ratio of 2.61.

Lsb Industries (NYSE:LXU) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The conglomerate reported $0.22 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $165.05 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $153.88 million. Lsb Industries had a return on equity of 4.90% and a net margin of 4.00%. Equities research analysts expect that Lsb Industries Inc. will post -0.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Lsb Industries news, SVP Kristy Carver sold 19,550 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.99, for a total transaction of $195,304.50. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 52,613 shares in the company, valued at $525,603.87. The trade was a 27.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Barry H. Golsen sold 17,813 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.04, for a total transaction of $178,842.52. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 471,501 shares of company stock worth $4,493,971 over the last three months. 4.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lsb Industries

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LXU. Kestra Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in Lsb Industries in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Lsb Industries by 2,900.0% during the third quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 4,500 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 4,350 shares during the last quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lsb Industries in the third quarter worth approximately $42,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its holdings in shares of Lsb Industries by 90.3% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 6,019 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 2,856 shares during the period. Finally, Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV bought a new stake in shares of Lsb Industries during the 4th quarter worth approximately $97,000. 73.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Lsb Industries Company Profile

LSB Industries, Inc (NYSE: LXU) is an Oklahoma City–based manufacturer of chemical products serving the agricultural, industrial and defense markets. The company operates primarily through two segments: Fertilizer Solutions and Commodities Solutions. Through its Fertilizer Solutions segment, LSB produces primary nitrogen products—including anhydrous ammonia and technical-grade ammonium nitrate—that are sold to fertilizer distributors and agricultural retailers across North America. Its Commodities Solutions segment manufactures and sells nitric acid, sodium nitrate and other nitrate-based compounds for industrial applications such as mining, water treatment and specialty chemical production, as well as defense-related formulations used in munitions and pyrotechnics.

Incorporated in 1969, LSB Industries has grown from a single production site to multiple manufacturing facilities strategically located in the central United States.